[ Hero Concept ] Shay, the Ashen Nomad (Updates in comments!)

[volkgang]

Shay is a hero with a focus on melee damage via sacrifice. We already have melee characters like Tanky Abrams, Light Attack Billy, and Shotgun Priest. But I wanted to create a character that had a focus on not doing a lot of melee attacks, but building up to a strong singular heavy melee.

BIG WARNING: I'm not good with numbers so if some seem too insane or weak, feel free to mention it so it can be properly balanced. Now onto the hero itself!

DETAILS? DETAILS! DETAILS...

WEAPONS:
Shay has a crossbow as his ranged weapon, which has a slow fire rate but decent damage. The idea of the crossbow is not be his primary source of damage, but build up marks to increase his melee damage.

His glaive is what he uses for melee.

MANGUDAI CHASE:
The idea behind this ability is sacrificing HP to gain an increase in mobility. Mobility in this game is very important, and this can allow Shay to travel the map faster. He can get in time to reinforce his teammates, jungle faster, or chase down certain enemies.

This ability can't be toggled off willy nilly, and so it lasts 6 seconds minimum. This means using it costs you 150 HP minimum per use. I was tempted to have it so it could give you extra air dashes and wall jumps, but that can get really insane with items.

FLESH TAX:
The idea behind this ability is to trade health for lifesteal, gaining the possible opportunity to heal the damage you take from your 1 and in fights IF you can dish out the damage yourself. It would last a short duration. It changes as an ability with its last upgrade, making it a mini anti-heal nuke. This would encourage you to stay close to maximise the ability usage.

I can see this upgrade being insane with the value, so I can see alternatives like:
Killing an enemy resets the cooldown
Grant minor Lifesteal to allies around you in a radius (similar to Wraith's FULLER auto)
I'd appreciate suggestions on this one

EMPIRE'S FALL
The core of the kit and what makes the character unique. This is inspired by Mirage's passive. The idea is you hit your crossbow shots (They would be difficult to land due to slower travel rate and ROF) to build up to a strong melee strike which will regain your HP.

So you expend HP to get your marks, then heavy melee (while avoiding a parry). This gives you back HP and deals more damage. Repeat the process. It also slightly buffs your heavy melee range to sell the idea you are using a glaive. I would consider a slightly wider melee hitbox as well but that could be too much.

Upgrade 1 - Could be changed. The idea is that enemies become easier melee targets by becoming slower.
Upgrade 2 - This allows Shay to be mobile around his targets. Use stamina to get, get stamina to get out.
Upgrade 3 - The idea is that you basically heavy melee someone to screw over their defenses, making them easier to kill for your team.

UNNATURAL CONTINUATION
His ultimate is based on the idea that you are going to lose HP, so you gain buffs the more HP you lose in a window of time. If done right, you can pull of around 2 buffed heavy melees which could be great big heals. It also allows you to tank and get a window to stop someone with its final upgrade.

LORE:

BIO​

---

Shay has been around for a long time. A really long time. He doesn't remember who he used to be anymore before he changed. His oldest memory is now waking up.

His town burned.
Arrows in his body.
And yet, he could get up.

He could breathe in the ashes of his old home. He scared away the looters rummaging through the less fortunate, and then left to wander. And wander he shall for as long as he lives.

He rode with many people in his travels, a nomad who has fought for men such as Ghengis Khan and Timur. He scared people with how much he could take. Eventually, his lords would die, their vision for an empire or world fail, and he would move on. He tried forming connections, but such connections are hard to keep when everyone's lives are so short and his so long. He couldn't stay for too long in a place, for people will realise he was unaging, but he also couldn't stay away from humanity forever.

He is certain he is not some sort of vampire, in fact he hates vampires. For a decade he was tied up and used as a food source by one, as vampires hunt him for his seemingly endless source of blood and flesh.

Over time, he noticed he started feeling sensations less and less. Food lost its taste. Stopped being able to get drunk. Pain a distant memory. He realised he didn't even need to sleep anymore. He felt terrible.

When the first Maelstrom happened and changed the world, he felt something he hasn't felt in a long time. Hope.

---

I made a previous post on his lore. It's not outdated but I am working and altering it. Here's a link if you are interested. It contains way more details on his character, example dialogues, and more!

Thread '[Hero Writing Concept] Shay, the Undying Nomad'

Mar 4, 2026

BIO ____________________________________________
Shay has been around for a long time. A real long time. He doesn't remember who he used to be anymore before his 'change'. His first memory is now waking up, a city burned, arrows in his body, and yet, he could get up. He could breath in the ashes of his old home. He scared away the looters rummaging through the less fortunate, and then wandered. And wander he shall for as long as he lives.

He rode with many people in his travels, a nomad who has fought for warlords such as Ghengis Khan, Timur. He...

• volkgang
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Community Hero Ideas

Feel free to give feedback! Art done by me.

 

[lgbrokhoff]

I do think it's cool, I just think that it might play too similarly to Victor, but just worse, mostly because none of his abilites are offensive, they all just rely on boosting melee viability, and his ult is similar to Victor's ult but he doesn't have the innate healing in his kit to sustain it, if he had some abilities that applied melee damage that'd be much greater, I think that the bolt passive is actually pretty great, but one of the levels should probably increase the maximum number of bolts, and while you could do spirit damage, it might make more sense for it to just deal additional heavy melee damage so that his scaling is more direct and melee items are more powerful, flesh tax is also really sick, but I personally think the pulse could be made more interesting or added to the tier 0 ability.

 

[volkgang]

I do think it's cool, I just think that it might play too similarly to Victor, but just worse, mostly because none of his abilites are offensive, they all just rely on boosting melee viability, and his ult is similar to Victor's ult but he doesn't have the innate healing in his kit to sustain it, if he had some abilities that applied melee damage that'd be much greater, I think that the bolt passive is actually pretty great, but one of the levels should probably increase the maximum number of bolts, and while you could do spirit damage, it might make more sense for it to just deal additional heavy melee damage so that his scaling is more direct and melee items are more powerful, flesh tax is also really sick, but I personally think the pulse could be made more interesting or added to the tier 0 ability.

Thanks for responding. First off, bad with numbers balance so I do agree that he probably seems weak.

I was tempted to have an ability related to the crossbow, a simple slow charged shot or instance. Hit someone with it to prevent them escaping. However it would have to replace the Flesh Tax or the Chase. To me, we need an ability like the Chase to give up HP and we need an ability like the Flesh Tax to regain it. I do agree he needs more offense from his abilities.


With his 2, the pulse could be made part of core ability (Deals less anti-heal). The final upgrade could changed into where enemies take damage based on how much HP he consumes.


The passive didn't have a more stacks upgrade because I was worried about scaling but it makes sense. Perhaps every upgrade gives +1 mark (or is that too much)? It has less marks but makes it so his heavy melee eventually effects people in a radius.


The Ultimate could just give him a massive life-steal which could allow him to survive. However with Viktor's ult, he just comes back from the dead on the spot to stun people around him. This ult is more similar to Yamato's where it's just a mega-buff to the character. It could be reworked to be a weird team sustain tool.

 

[lgbrokhoff]

I think this is alot cooler honestly, the only issue I could see is that he would be majorly countered by spirit burst characters, especially those with high escapability and long range, so Doorman and Sinclair particularly would destroy him in most scenarios, other than that, just investing heavily into speed, lifesteal, and gun damage would make him super cool in 1v1 jungle scenarios where he just chases you down. I also think a cool adition would be for one of his abilities to be able to cancel heavy melees, like Restorative Locket and Fleetfoot can, so that he's rewarded for being able to properly time a melee cancel and get a good parry bait.

 

[volkgang]

I think this is alot cooler honestly, the only issue I could see is that he would be majorly countered by spirit burst characters, especially those with high escapability and long range, so Doorman and Sinclair particularly would destroy him in most scenarios, other than that, just investing heavily into speed, lifesteal, and gun damage would make him super cool in 1v1 jungle scenarios where he just chases you down. I also think a cool adition would be for one of his abilities to be able to cancel heavy melees, like Restorative Locket and Fleetfoot can, so that he's rewarded for being able to properly time a melee cancel and get a good parry bait.

I am trying not to make a characer that can handle everything, as I think having a weakness in certain match ups is interesting. You are fast and mobile enough to go "NAH" and try a different angle or fight with a friend to take attention away from you. He can be buffed in some ways to make him not melt under Burst Spirit Ranged but I don't want him to be on even footing with everyone.

He is supposed to be a hunter (He lived on the steppe where it was expected) and mobility is king. You are in the jungle? You can and will be hunted as he zooms around.

I think the innate ability to cancel Heavies could be great due to the fact he is punished the most by parries since everything relies on Heavies. Issue is what ability? The 2 can work and it will be expensive (so you can't melee cancel often, but combined with items you can do it more than the rest). It could be interesting to have his light melee be a way to cancel. So you can cancel the Heavy with a Light, but if you are already too close to the enemy, then it doesn't matter.

 

[lgbrokhoff]

I am trying not to make a characer that can handle everything, as I think having a weakness in certain match ups is interesting. You are fast and mobile enough to go "NAH" and try a different angle or fight with a friend to take attention away from you. He can be buffed in some ways to make him not melt under Burst Spirit Ranged but I don't want him to be on even footing with everyone.

He is supposed to be a hunter (He lived on the steppe where it was expected) and mobility is king. You are in the jungle? You can and will be hunted as he zooms around.

I think the innate ability to cancel Heavies could be great due to the fact he is punished the most by parries since everything relies on Heavies. Issue is what ability? The 2 can work and it will be expensive (so you can't melee cancel often, but combined with items you can do it more than the rest). It could be interesting to have his light melee be a way to cancel. So you can cancel the Heavy with a Light, but if you are already too close to the enemy, then it doesn't matter.

Yeah Flesh Tax would make sense to make it not so constantly available, especially because then if you pull off the cancel, you get the pulse out on an unprepared, parrying enemy, and have a slowed target to quickly melee while their parry is on cooldown.

 

[volkgang]

Yeah Flesh Tax would make sense to make it not so constantly available, especially because then if you pull off the cancel, you get the pulse out on an unprepared, parrying enemy, and have a slowed target to quickly melee while their parry is on cooldown.

+ with the final upgrade, you deal damage with the pulse and if you have full stacks, that's a lot of damage.

My current concern is how should the last upgarde of the Chase be. It is good to deal more damage over time and encourage sacrificing health, but I wonder about its numbers and how it could stack with his ult (Do you purposely bring yourself low with the ability and then ult, gaining a huge spike of damage but you are on the edge of life).

 

[bloodfrost27]

Really like this take on a melee champ.

Getting a mobility buff to get in or out and the passive is just chefs kiss. Just a way more interesting form of the various gun stack characters in the game, the fact that you actually have to do something rather than just continue shooting to get your bonus is just really cool and melee just gives you great feedback anyway so i can imagine finally consuming those stacks after a long chase would be really satisfying and visceral. I agree with Igbrokhoff that the character feels very similar to victor though.

I think itd be cool if he had the ability to steal others' healing rather than just reduce it. Thatd really just make him the ultimate tank buster. Something like that could be added to the flesh tax. Or even the passive could hold some of the victims attempted healing within each stack and then when you finally punch them you get all that healing that they would have had. The stacks could wear off over time and if there was no successful melee in that period the victim gets all that healing they would have gotten in one big burst.

Just spitballing, love the character tho and the art and design is sick!

 

[STIH1LY]

good concept，and i also made one concept https://forums.playdeadlock.com/threads/hero-concpet-张末-zhang-mo.116062/#post-220147

 

[volkgang]

Really like this take on a melee champ.

Getting a mobility buff to get in or out and the passive is just chefs kiss. Just a way more interesting form of the various gun stack characters in the game, the fact that you actually have to do something rather than just continue shooting to get your bonus is just really cool and melee just gives you great feedback anyway so i can imagine finally consuming those stacks after a long chase would be really satisfying and visceral. I agree with Igbrokhoff that the character feels very similar to victor though.

I think itd be cool if he had the ability to steal others' healing rather than just reduce it. Thatd really just make him the ultimate tank buster. Something like that could be added to the flesh tax. Or even the passive could hold some of the victims attempted healing within each stack and then when you finally punch them you get all that healing that they would have had. The stacks could wear off over time and if there was no successful melee in that period the victim gets all that healing they would have gotten in one big burst.

Just spitballing, love the character tho and the art and design is sick!

First off, thank you!

I was looking at all the heroes and thinking on what playstyle and player fantasy we are missing (that isn't cancer). Again for the melee fantasies we have are:
Stun...MELEE!
Wombo Combo Anarchy!
Warcrime Ability Apollo

He doesn't have a charge, a burst mobility tool because your baseline movement skill is your chase. Give yourself great speed with the Chase and catch people by mastering the map and movement.

The passive is to set up plays, not do them for you.

Secondly, Viktor
I get the comparisons but actually let's look at their kits
V1 - Damage ability based on taking damage.
V2 - Screw your debuffs and healing
V3 - Aura of someone who doesn't shower. Take psychological damage as payment (yet the girls still want him)
V4 - Get back from the dead right where you died and rip out a big stun

Now Shay
S1 - Damage yourself like the V3 but instead of an aura of smell, he just gets speed. Used for chasing down people and escaping.
S2 - Sacrifice life (like Viktor) but instead of regen, it's lifesteal. It's also a bit like the aura of smell but it's just a pulse like the ice item instead of something channeled. I wonder if you could animate him sweeping the glaive in a circle to be the "pulse"
S3 - Passive. Completely compared to Viktor
S4 - A bit similar as both are about coming back from death, but while Viktor's is automatic, Shay requires skill. Did you set up some marks already? Do you have the speed and movement to pull off heavy melees? You are only going to be able to heal IF you deal heavy damage.

So while I get the comparisons, they do have enough differences. It's like comparing Billy and Abrams. Similar but different.

I agree with your idea of stealing lifesteal. That could be the last upgrade of the 2 or an upgrade of the 3 to reduce incoming healing per mark. It would give him an edge over brawler melee heroes who usually have some form of regen to compensate being a frontliner.

Thanks for the compliment of the art!

 

[volkgang]

Really like this take on a melee champ.

Getting a mobility buff to get in or out and the passive is just chefs kiss. Just a way more interesting form of the various gun stack characters in the game, the fact that you actually have to do something rather than just continue shooting to get your bonus is just really cool and melee just gives you great feedback anyway so i can imagine finally consuming those stacks after a long chase would be really satisfying and visceral. I agree with Igbrokhoff that the character feels very similar to victor though.

I think itd be cool if he had the ability to steal others' healing rather than just reduce it. Thatd really just make him the ultimate tank buster. Something like that could be added to the flesh tax. Or even the passive could hold some of the victims attempted healing within each stack and then when you finally punch them you get all that healing that they would have had. The stacks could wear off over time and if there was no successful melee in that period the victim gets all that healing they would have gotten in one big burst.

Just spitballing, love the character tho and the art and design is sick!

Is this what you are thinking about? I am worried about it being a bit unfun but I can see it being a good tool against tanks that isn't just items. I also gave back the +10% Heavy Melee Range

I also updated Flesh Tax with this change. It receives a small nerf to its lifesteal since now you can generate more of it with this. I can see the lifesteal being reduced further if the combination is too much.



The BIG change to Flesh Tax:
Instead of a vague pulse, Shay basically throws his glaive and it spins around him. He can still shoot or reload but he can't melee until it's back in his hand. It's not a long animation but long enough that you can't toggle it and immediately melee. The glaive will fly akin to God of War 4's Leviathan Axe and be caught by Shay. Think Kratos throwing his axe and it flies around him in a circle.

This works as a mini-parry, as if timed right you can knockback someone doing a heavy melee attack just enough for them to miss. It also allows you some breathing room with characters who want to stay in your face, like Billy. It also makes the 5th Upgrade make more sense with the ability dealing damage.

Now there's counterplay. It gives enemies a split-second (mainly behind. Depends on where the throw starts) to escape with mobility. It can be double jumped over like many abilities in the game. So now the ability isn't a cheap pulse but an actual tangible weapon which enemies can react to.

 

[volkgang]

Possible version of his UI icon at the top of the screen during a match.

I am used to making profile icons (it's why I got into digital art hence the head being more detailed). I am thinking on how his gloat and near-death portrait to look like.

I see his gloat icon as him looking up to something we can't see, his mouth slightly open. Not a big smile but very faint, like "Is this happening? Will I actually win?"

His near-death has his head lowered, messy hair all the way down. Despite covered in blood, he smiles with a huge grin. The eye is glowing and wider. Since the character gets stronger the closer he is to death and he can't feel pain, he should not look like he's broken. It's not a "Oh no! I'm about to die!" it's a "Oh yeah! I'm about to die!"

DESIGN NOTES:
With his visual design, if you noticed he has sharply turned hair and a little rip in his cloak. Lightning is a minor motif for the character, for how he fights (Strike like lightning. Brief but hard) and how lightning is what powers every human (With our nervous system, and how Viktor is powered by lightning). While Seven's lightning is crackly and sparky, Shay's 'lightning' should be smooth like water. It is not the sharp spark of an exposed socket, but the river of electrons that flows in wires and you.

I'm not saying his abilities need to have lightning visuals, just a minor aspect of the character.

OUTFIT:
He should look out of time. He has no mind for fashion trends and mocks those like Geist and Mina for even caring for it. Fashion is nothing, for it constantly changes at random whims. Does it mean anything then? Style is forever.

He has stuff from random time periods. Like his glaive is from his time in China and his crossbow from the Crusades (the Alexandrian 'Crusade' I'd have him involved in). I'd probably give him a hunting knife to give something for his hip.

 

[volkgang]

If we go further into the tankbuster direction, we can change the Chase so that instead of granting more damage, it reduces the resist of enemies. While this doesn't mean much in the early game, this becomes more useful in the late game as it allows you to bypass the inevitable items that people buy to survive.
HP requirement is increased because of it. This also makes it different from the ult (so not double damage stacking).

It also gives an extra airdash/wall jump to compensate for the lower damage, to help you chase people and get into the right position for a melee. More sick movement.


Now I realised I wrote the 5th upgrade for the 3 (Passive) vaguely. I wrote that enemies hit by the shockwave suffer the same debuffs as the target. Now, I meant this as the debuffs from the second upgrade. It would be a boon in a teamfight to reduce the resistance of a group and helps a melee charge from other heroes. This would be fufilling the fantasy. Ye doing a ol' charge into the enemy together. Like the old days. And the lifesteal is best for this team effort as you'll be close together.

It doesn't spread *all* debuffs the target has. That sounds horribly broken. Just imagine, Infernus and Shay applying fire, toxin, silence, disarmed to a whole group.

 

[greenalen22]

As a Kazakh, I really like the idea of a nomad character, and coincidentally, I also love fellow characters, so for me this character hits right in the heart

 

[greenalen22]

I'm not sure about some of the abilities, but I see that the car is also making adjustments and rebalancing to the character.

The rest of the commentators say that the character looks like Victor, but I would add that it's more of a mix of Apollo, Victor and Drifter at some points

 

[volkgang]

As a Kazakh, I really like the idea of a nomad character, and coincidentally, I also love fellow characters, so for me this character hits right in the heart

Guess where I'm from

I love the idea of nomad characters so I tend to make them.

Yeah the point of discussion is to refine ideas. Rarely is something made perfectly from the spot. So I'm changing things and refining the kit to make it something interesting and balanced. Feel free to write feedback. As shown, I adjust a lot.
---
You picked up on the mix of Drifter and Apollo.

Yes, a part of the character is inspired by Drifter (Drifter, Nomad, see it?) He is like Drifter as both are characters that roam the map and can pick off enemies out of position and in the jungle. Drifter is a stealth character with a 'shotgun' as his gun that thrives in ambushes, while Shay is better for sustained direct combat and melees. Narratively, they understand each other better than most as both are immortals that ended just wandering, with a dislike of vampire nobility. Yet while Shay grew out being a murder hobo, Drifter has yet to do so.

I get why Viktor is brought up, with the life sacrifice and regen (Geist does the same thing). However as written in an above response, their kits have stark differences so Shay wouldn't end up playing as Viktor 2.0. The game doesn't have strict roles but Viktor is mostly a mega-tank who lets out his stinky aura, throws his snot, and just regens. While Shay is a jungler with his mobility (Viktor lacks this), picker with his heavy melees which you have to set up (Viktor lacks this), and tank with regen.

Apollo is an inspiration where he is a 'melee' character but I wanted a character that felt like less unfair (Though he did get nerfed recently as of writing). But he fulfills the fantasy which you can get with Apollo with thrusting hard into enemies like with his 2 and Ult. They would play completely differently still since Apollo doesn't really heavy melee, instead he uses his Flawless Advance as his primary 'melee' damage dealer.

There's already so many characters in the game that making a truly unique kit in every aspect is effectively impossible eventually. And the ideas that aren't the game maybe were left out for a reason (You can easily create unique kits that would be unfun). What I'm interested in is creating a kit that offers a different gameplay experience and appeal in the roster. So while he might be like X, he doesn't really play like X or fulfill the same fantasy.

Billy and Abrams exist together despite both are melee characters, both have a charge, both have an AOE ability, both regen HP, and both's ult is about taking a group and stopping them in their tracks. And yet, they exist together and provide different experiences.
--
I noticed we don't have a type of melee character in the game, one who builds up to a single heavy melee instead of trying to spam as many as possible. So I made him.

 

[greenalen22]

Guess where I'm from

I'll assume it's from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, or Uzbekistan.

*Оказывается мен сенын профильге кырып, тусене алган едым. Лол

 

[volkgang]

Not sure if I did the pose correctly but an example of a possible killstreak icon.

Also more to the backstory:
Shay is an immortal but NOT a vampire. Vampires want him for an easy source of eternal blood. As time passed, vampires took control more of high society and cosmopolitan areas. He couldn't get too comfy in major cities in case he are discovered. So he wandered the countryside and smaller towns. But you can't stay forever even there as people will notice you not aging.

Being in New York puts Shay on edge because the vampires of America will eventually figure out who he is and likely send their own to capture him, but the ritual is a big enough opportunity to be found again.

Shay still wants to socialise. He tried living alone for periods of time but eventually, he got the itch to talk to someone. To make friends. He has had pets, friends, and more but they all have died in the end. So it's hard to connect. He's the type to go to bars just to listen to people talk. Despite seeing so many different faces, they all end up saying the same things. The songs they sing can have different lyrics and yet they all rhyme.

Sometimes he hunts monsters, moreso to see if they can kill him. Otherwise they provide a challenge that few men provide. He respects the Venators and has occasionally aided them to hunt vampires.

S - "Ah! A Venator. Always a delight to aid the hunters of Rome."
V - "I see you are familiar with our work. Which one of us did you help?"
S - "A few. I will always remember Rob the most fondly. Ah...that hunt was glorious."
V - "You don't mean THE Robert that took down an entire vampire hold from over three hundred years ago by himself?"
S - "By himself, *ha*. He kept his word. Believe or not, the real tale is more fantastical but alas, we lack the time. The ritual is starting. If you honor the capabilities of your predecessors, I'll tell you about it after."

S - "After the ritual, you want to hunt that arrogant vampire arriviste?"
V - "Tempting, but she hasn't done anything yet to earn the ire of the Vatican."
S - "Shame. I would like to hunt with a Venator once again."

 

[volkgang]

Near death portrait example.

I can't do blood well but the reason he's smiling is because his ult encourages him to be low HP. When he's at low HP, he's not that worried since he can just come back from the dead. He's having some fun. The eye is glowing because that's what happens during his ult as part of the visual indicators.

The hair looks a bit different since I imagine it wet with blood and so loses it's 'poofiness'.

So full line up:

Likely will redo them for better expressions and posing.

Now onto LORE updates:
I like to mention again the previous post of the character that contains the writing is not 100% what I want with him and I'm redoing his dialogues. I plan to make graphics for it.

With his character, he's the most okay with losing since he can just wait for the next ritual in 50 years. So he's the most nonchalant and makes plans with characters in-case they lose.

Shay - "Wy...o...ming? That's the land you want for your people?"
Mirage - "For the Djinn. Yes. They deem it the ideal place."
Shay - "Why do not the Djinn wish to simply own the state? Who knows what these Patrons can do."
Mirage - "The Djinn do not wish to manage an entire nation, and it would likely cause an international crisis."
Shay - "Well, let us be victorious today so your people can get the promised land of Wyo...ming."
(A ... is a pause. Not a long one but it's clear Shay only heard the name from Mirage a few times.)

Shay - "Would your masters be open to having one such as I as a bodyguard?"
Mirage - "I will relay that offer. You might be serviceable at it"
Shay - "Serviceable! I'll show you how 'serviceable' I am today!"

Shay - "After becoming what you deem as a god, what will you do after?"
Seven - "I will do what I wish. Is that not life's end goal?"
Shay - "Yes but specifics? Forge an empire? Find love? Get a sandwich?"
Seven - "I would put a stop to your incessant questions first."
Shay - "I recommend the sandwich option instead."